Since 1996, Damian Trujillo has been a NBC Bay Area News reporter, host and producer of “Comunidad Del Valle,” the longest running public affairs program in the Bay Area. Comunidad Del Valle now also airs in Spanish on Telemundo 48.
Damian has been honored with awards from the Associated Press, the Radio and Television News Director's Association (RTNDA), and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Damian was named "2004 Reporter of the Year" by the Associated Press Television and Radio Association for California and Nevada and five times nominated for an Emmy Award.
Damian grew up in Greenfield, about 2 hours south of San Francisco on Highway 101. While in high school, Damian worked in the agricultural fields of the Salinas Valley, with his family, to help make ends meet. He picked garlic, broccoli, cucumbers, and strawberries.
As a former farm worker, Damian now honors his first job, on the Cesar Chavez Holiday. Every March 31, Damian’s family hosts family, friends, and students. They make sacked lunches at the Trujillo home, and distribute them to roughly 250 farm workers in the South Bay. The gesture is a “thank you “ to farm workers, for their tireless work. In addition, each year, the Trujillo family awards a college scholarship to the son or daughter of a farm worker in Greenfield.
In 2012, Carolyn Brown, professor at American University in Washington D.C., produced a half-hour documentary on the life of Damian Trujillo titled “From the Fields: An American Journey”. Damian has screened the film at Stanford, Georgetown, and Harvard universities, at The National Steinbeck Center. And April 2013, Congress invited Damian for a special screening on Capitol Hill.
Damian and his wife Monica have a daughter, Malyna, and twins Isela and Michael Damian.
Follow Damian on social media: @NewsDamian on Twitter, @NewsDamian on Instagram and on Facebook.
The Latest
-
San Jose safety plan aims to address King Road collisions by reducing lanes
San Jose’s plan to increase safety along King Road in the east side includes reducing lanes and restrict street parking in some cases.
-
Santa Clara County DA proposes resentencing for convicted killer Richard Farley
Santa Clara County’s district attorney asked a judge Friday to remove the death sentence for convicted killer Richard Farley, who was sentenced to death for the 1988 mass shooting at a South Bay company.
-
A closer look at San Mateo County's emergency alert system after tsunami warning
Some residents said they never heard any sirens that are supposed to warn of a possible tsunami. Damian Trujillo reports.
-
Alum Rock school trustees to vote on which campuses to close and consolidate
Alum Rock Union School District trustees are scheduled to decide which schools they will close and consolidate.
-
‘Feel violated': Burglars ransack San Jose church on consecutive days
Burglars have dampened spirits at a San Jose church ahead of Thanksgiving.
-
Bay Area food banks to help thousands of struggling families for Thanksgiving
Food banks across the Bay Area say the need in their communities is booming.
-
San Jose residents fare with Bay Area storm
The atmospheric river made its way to the South Bay on Friday, leaving many with power outages and impacting holiday events.
-
Bay Area food banks in need of Thanksgiving donations for struggling families
Bay Area food banks are in need of donations to help struggling families this holiday season.
-
Unhoused student population in San Jose school district approaches 1,000
The East Side Union High School District in San Jose says its unhoused student population has ballooned to almost 1,000 children.
-
San Jose police shoot and injure suspect armed with knife
San Jose police shot and injured an armed suspect during a domestic disturbance overnight Monday, according to the police department.